An ad for bulletproof hoodies and T-shirts takes aim at campus-carry laws

A
screenshot from a satirical commercial advertising "Student Body
Armor"CNG

An anti-gun group is advertising "student body armor" in states
that allow people to carry firearms on college campuses.

The satirical commercial shows students cheerfully modeling
hoodies and other apparel emblazoned with the University of Texas
logo — except each item has bulky, bulletproof body armor built
in.

"Don't get caught in the crossfire, get Student Body Armor," a
narrator says. "A proprietary blend of type-II body armor and
school pride."

The price of
the gear runs from $700 for a T-shirt to $29,999 for a fully
protective body suit. However, the gear isn't actually for sale —
the commercial is a protest against guns in schools.

"We wanted to take a stance that's lighthearted and apply it to a
topic that's generally really dark and stressful in America,"
Jessica Jin, the founder of the group behind the ad campaign,
told Business Insider.

But those laws are often the result of lawmakers succumbing to
pressure from gun groups like the National Rifle Association, Jin
said, adding that students and members of school leadership are
rarely consulted. The Student Body Armor concept was a chance to
invite young people into the conversation, she said.

"It's an alternative narrative to the NRA's messaging for the
last 40 years, that guns equals safety. A lot of millennials
don't feel the same way," she told Business Insider.

Jin's group, Cocks Not Glocks, is no stranger to controversial
campaigns. Last year, the group organized a
rally at the University of Texas in which hundreds of
students brandished sex toys — illegal to carry in public, under
a Texas obscenity statute — to protest against handguns, which
were legalized on campuses
in August.

"We're fighting absurdity with absurdity," Jin said.

A
screenshot from a satirical commercial for "Student Body
Armor."CNG

The group enlisted ad agency FCB New York to design the
bulletproof apparel and shoot the commercial.

The agency had real students try on the gear at one point in the
90-second spot, which led to some angry feedback from those
unaware the product was satirical, FCB's chief creative officer
Ari Halper said.

"They were disgusted we would profit off the fact that guns are
allowed in these universities," he told Business Insider.

However, by the end of the commercial, the narrator makes clear:
Student Body Armor is a joke, even if campus carry laws are not.

"Price too steep? Not to worry. Protect yourself for free," the
narrator says. "Just call your local representative and tell them
campus carry is almost as ridiculous as Student Body Armor."